Who Do We Choose To Be?

Making Our Shoulders Strong

For many years, leaders were preoccupied with the idea of legacy. This was the era when we were all incredibly optimistic about the changes we were creating. Well-led organizations offered direct evidence of positive changes that resulted from working with the new paradigm of living systems. It was natural for leaders to want the value they had created to continue into the future beyond their individual tenure. These days, I don’t hear legacy talked about nearly as much—conversations tend to focus on just keeping things afloat, surviving the present craziness with one’s integrity still recognizable.

Legacy is an important thing to reflect on at the end of a long and fruitful career. What had been built was of real ...